The Olympic mountain bike gold medallist Pauline-Ferrand Prévot took a commanding overall lead in the Tour de France Femmes after an extraordinary solo victory at the summit of the Col de la Madeleine.
The 33-year-old from Reims crushed the hopes of the defending champion Kasia Niewiadoma and 2023 winner Demi Vollering on the steep, narrow road to the 2,000m mountain top, in the Haute Savoie region.
The pivotal moment came 12 kilometres from the top of the Madeleine when the Australian climber Sarah Gigante pulled clear of the favourites, with Pauliena Rooijakkers and Ferrand-Prévot in pursuit.
But the French rider benefited from her Visma-Lease-a-bike team’s tactics, of having Marion Bunol in the early break, waiting ahead to pace her up the climb.
The overnight leader Kim Le Court, Niewiadoma and Vollering were all cut adrift, as they had little or no response to Ferrand-Prévot’s climbing speed.
Ferrand-Prévot is now in pole position to become the first French cyclist to win the Tour de France since Bernard Hinault in 1985. But there is still more climbing to come.
Sunday’s stage to Chatel may not include as much elevation as the finish on the Madeleine, but the double whammy of the tortuous Col de Joux Plane and the final cruelty of the Col du Corbier will create further gaps.
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Jeremy Whittle’s full report to follow
